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3rd October 2006 By JAMES BROWN Tunbridge Wells 2 TWO schoolboy errors saw The Lilywhites arrived at the
Culverden Stadium with high hopes of going level on points at the top of
the table with But they were undone by two
nightmare blunders with goalkeeper Tony Diment palming Ross
Campbell's 30-yarder into his own net after 18 minutes. Then Gary Stock hit the
self-destruct button 11 minutes from time when he was caught in
possession and substitute Danny Nicholl made it 2-2. Town were cruising at the time and
looked to be heading towards a well-deserved three points courtesy
of Andy Martin's 11th-minute opener and Michael Seager's first goal
for the club just after the hour. But they were made to pay for those
nightmare errors and slumped to their first draw of the season, a
result which sees them slip to third in the Kent League Premier
Division. Ironically, both Diment and Stock
were two of Town's most impressive players but for their
momentary lapses in concentration. Diment pulled off some good saves
before he was caught in two minds on how best to deal with And Stock, one of Town's most consistent players all season, did not put a foot wrong until he was robbed by Joe Fuller who set up Nicholl for that late leveller.
DISSALLOWED.....Wes
Hammond's header beats the keeper but was ruled offside It
could all have been so different but for referee Phil Knight's curious decision to chalk off Wes
Hammond's stunning header four minutes from the half-time interval. Julian Beal sent in a wicked cross
from the right after a quick corner from his partner in central
midfield Steve Aslett. A linesman's flag went up as The goal was ruled out for offside,
with striker Andy Martin the chief suspect, just in advance of the
penalty spot. But Knight later confirmed it was
Hammond who was deemed offside, which makes sense only if you
believe him capable of checking back and
outjumping the defender in such spectacular fashion. It was a controversial decision but
to labour the point could well obscure the stark reality that Town
did not make enough of their undoubted superiority. Tunbridge Wells - back to full
strength and riding high after two wins in the FA Vase - will not
finish bottom of the table, that is a cast-iron certainty. But Town really should have taken
maximum points against opponents who were there for the taking. Faversham played with three up front
for the majority of the second half with new signing Graham Taylor
joining Kris Parker and Andy Martin in attack. Yet they were starved of ball with Town managing just two shots in the second half, one of which saw Seager smash home a piledriver of a shot from all of 25 yards following a corner that was only half cleared.
BACK IN
FRONT.....Town regain the advantage following Seager's strike Diment did really well early on with
a fine save to tip Wayne Balmer's third-minute free-kick around the
post for a corner. He then made a second stop from the
resultant flag-kick - their third just six minutes in - to deny Town threatened when Beal sent in a
dangerous cross for Kris Parker but the Town striker ended up with a
dead leg after a nasty clash with the onrushing Simpson. It was Simpson who was cursing his
luck on 17 minutes when Town went ahead. Junior Farrell latched on to a
fantastic pass from Stock out of defence and sent in a cross from
the right that Simpson - diving to the left - could not gather on
the first bounce. The ball spilled to Parker who turned and fed
Martin to score from 10 yards. Tunbridge were level just 30 SECONDS
later when The goalkeeper must have been
devastated yet recovered to make another good save to keep out a
diving header from Alex Rich. That followed two Town penalty
claims that came to nothing. First, Aslett needed treatment after he
was sent crashing in a 50-50 challenge with Simpson. Then Martin went down in the box
under a strong challenge only for Knight to wave away his appeals
for a spot-kick. James Holder moved forward to send a
speculative effort over the top before getting back to block a
dangerous effort from Dave Blundell. That, in turn, led to the
controversy but Town nearly made amends through an unlikely source
two minutes later when Adrian Hatcher's header from a Beal through
ball required Simpson to make a smart save. Seager lashed home with a sweet
left-foot drive to make it 2-1 in the second half and Town looked
comfortable without really threatening to score a third - even
following the introduction of new boy Taylor. But they were undone in the wake of
Stock's late mistake and looked in grave danger of losing all three
points at the death when It looked like a good tackle on the
edge of the box but that did not stop the home fans baying for a
penalty and a red card for the defender. Thankfully for Town, Knight chose to
award only a free-kick which came to nothing after
BOOKED.....Wes
Hammond receives a yellow card from referee Phil Knight Town's Top Man: Michael Seager -
super strike for the second goal capping an assured display Tony Diment 6, Junior Farrell 6,
Michael Seager 8, Wes Hammond 7, James Holder 7, Gary Stock 6, Julian
Beal 6, Steve Aslett 6, Andy Martin 7, Mark Smith 6, Kris
Parker 7. Substitutes: Graham Taylor (for Farrell, 59 minutes) 6,
Jason Mills (for Smith, 77) 6.
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